June 06, 2014:
Doug calls in for some help in the Nancy/Hydra situation
Doug's Apartment
<A nice one bedroom apartment>
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
A Dark Hold
Apocalypse: Only the Strong
Blood versus Family
Bones Of The City
Breaking the Universe
Cyberdata War: First Strike
Dangerous Esterikos Wonderous Mystikos
Dark Gods & Times
De Oppresso Liber
Demon Lord of New York
Diaz de Muertos
Don't Tell Thanos The Babysitter's Dead
Empire of Tears
Escape from Sakaar
From the Ashes
Gateway to the Stars
Genosha: Rebirth
God Of The Dead
Hacker, Sass-Mastah, Engineer, Spy
Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung Setzen
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
After a very very early 4 AM breakfast, and knowing that Nancy had no place to stay, Doug stepped out of the 10 foot radius. After a brief hurried conversation ("My place's nearby, let's just get some sleep and I'll make some call in the morning…" / "What, your girlfriend's not gonna get mad?" / "Illyana's not my girlfriend, and stop smiling like that, you're getting the couch."), they adjourned to Doug's apartment.
As soon as it was a much more reasonable hour, Doug made a phone call, leaving Nancy to sleep. He was able to reach Calvin, and invited him over, giving him a quick 'Nancy is here, needs help, can't talk right now, come here.'
Nancy O'Neal wakes up on the couch, still not wearing any make up. Other then the black hair, it would be hard to place her as a goth. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes and stretches. She looks about the place. "So, what do you do for a living? How do you afford this place?"
Needless to say, Cal can get from Westchester to Manhattan very quickly, even taking into account showering and breakfast. A knock on the door gets him inside and he nods a hello to Nancy as he asks Doug "What's up?"
"Insider trading," Doug comments with a smirk. Not exactly, but given his proclivities and hacking and ability to 'read' languages, it wasn't all that far off.
The door answered, Doug motions inside. "Why don't I let Nancy explain it?" he says. "Help yourself, have a seat on the couch." If Nancy left any room, that is.
Nancy O'Neal goes to a far corner of the apartment, keeping herself out of range of Doug so he can talk. When its said that she'll explain, she sighs softly. "Here we go again, folks. Okay, so the guy that was playing the piano at the bar I met you at? His name is Jericho. He seems to know my trainer cause he broke into my apartment last night with some information that involved her. She made an attack on Polyglobal, the company that did the drug experiments on my mom when she was in college. It turns out, they are a front for the terrorist organization, Hydra, and that my best friend is actually working for them to keep an eye on me. The last message he got from them was to bring me in at any cost."
Cal's in no hurry to get close to Nancy and just leans back against a wall near Doug. He nods at the mention of the piano player but then just looks blank as she goes on. "Trainer?" he asks but anything else he might add is cut short by the rest of the info. "Hydra? No shit?" He glances at Doug as if to confirm but doesn't wait for it and looks back to Nancy. "So let me get this straight… Hydra owns a drug company that did experiments on your mom before you were born, thus giving you your powers - which technically wouldn't make you a mutant, not that it really matters whether you're a mutant or a mutate - and they're now watching you, probably to see if you do have any powers, likely so they can kidnap you and turn you into an agent, and the piano player at the bar somehow found out about this." He and Scott ported over when Doug gave them a call.
Scott's busy looking at the homes furnishings, checking out the walls, the flooring. That sort of thing. He takes in all the bits about the layout of the room, while listening to the frantic conversation going on in the apartment.
As Cal goes through all of the permutations, Scott leans down to look at some of the air ducts over in the corner. He can't help but comment, "Sounds exhausting."
Nancy O'Neal leans on the wall she's at, growing grumpy about the distance, but not so much that it increases her usual area of effect. She crosses her arms over her chest and shrugs. "So… I'm not a mutant? Ooookey. Whatever. Like I know about the classifications of freakiness." She looks to Scott. "Apparently that was them at M'Town too. Or at least, that's where Paul was telling them I'd be that night."
"I'm pretty sure if she was born with the powers, she's a mutant," Doug replies, running a hand through his hair. "At least if they did the experiments before she was even concieved… though that's probably a question left for Dr. McCoy to answer."
He glances at the X-Men leader as Scott gives his apartment a once-over. Yes, Scott, the feng shui in here is excellent, the security not so much, but at least Doug had -locks- and latches on the front door. And they were high off the first floor, and there was no fire escape near the windows, since they were right down the hall…
Ahem.
"Anyway, if Hydra's involved, she needs protection. What do you guys suggest?" Doug asks, as he heads to the kitchen. Calling out from there: "You want anything to drink? I got coffee, milk, orange juice…"
"Technically, and I only know this because I listen to Hank, a mutant needs the X-Gene. Others can be born with powers but lack it so would be mutates or a different gene." He shrugs lightly. "But like I said, doesn't really matter." After a moment studying Nancy, he turns to Scott. "I think we need to take her. Not just for her sake, we can't let Hydra get their hands on her."
You say, "But I wasn't born with them. At least not that I know of. Hank said that my powers depend on being around other mutants to notice it, but I have a hard time believing I had never met a mutant until I met you, Doug." The seriousness of the situation seems to have stopped her from insulting Doug by calling him Twinkletoes. "Coffee please?"
"Couple routes we could go," Scott says over his shoulder towards Doug. "We could open up a safehouse. Lay low. Put it under surveillance and equip it with some of us who wouldn't be negatively inhibited by her powers. Option two is to bring her in. Option three, and this is the one I'm most afraid of," Though his eyes are shielded he is clearly looking towards her for a moment, almost sizing her up. "We could let her decide."
"Coffee would be great, Doug."
"Coffee, coffee… I guess coffee too." With the coffee brewing, Doug returns to the living room, leaning back to watch. "Anyway, a safehouse is hard. We could bring her in… to where?"
His eyes shift towards Nancy. "What do you think?"
Nancy O'Neal looks over to Cal. "But I have the X-Gene. Or X-Factor, or metagene or whatever label they are giving it these days. Polyglobal did tests on me since I was little. Said I had it, but no tests could show what I did. I always figured I was the worst super on the planet. My power seemed to be coming up positive for having a power." She glowers angrily at the two older men who seem to be figuring out what to do with her. "You know, I'm standing right here and can hear what you're saying." Scott gets a reluctant 'thank you' when he mentions letting her decide. "I don't want to be a weapon. And especially not for a group of terrorists that used to be Nazis. But I don't want to be a weapon for you guys either. I was hoping that Hank could teach me how to turn this damn thing off, or get rid of it, or something. Maybe not that last one. As to the options, safehouse or… taking me in? Neither really sounds fun. And yeah, what Doug said. In where?"
"Then the experiments were probably coincidental to your powers. Or possibly they were intended to activate your mother's latent powers. It would be interesting to know if she has? had? the gene." But it's also irrelevant nd Cal nods at what Scott says. "Teaching you to control it is certainly needed and that's kind of what we specialize in. Teaching. Not weapons. My only worry is that having you wander around would certainly upset some people as their powers cut in and out. It could even be dangerous, depending but you can be trusted to follow some guidelines." Unlike, say, a young teen. As to where, it's kind of obvious to Doug he's talking about the school.
Scott gives a bit of a sigh as he looks to Calvin. The latter seems to know him well enough to realize now that he's beginning to get frustrated. "Well, if you wanted Hank, I'm afraid to tell you that you've got others. If you'd prefer that we hit the road and leave you for Hydra, then by all means, I'll take my coffee to go."
"Teaching control is a good idea," Doug chimes in. Like Calvin, Doug could read Scott's expression. And probably better, at that. "But is it going to be safe if Hydra goes after her there too?"
Looking back towards Nancy, Doug nods slowly. "Honestly…? Anyone with -powers- are going to end up being used one way or another. It's just… at least this way, you have a choice in -how- you're being used. Because you're going to be using them for who you want to be using them for."
Nancy O'Neal listens to Cal and nods her head slowly. "I don't know about that. I only really know what my mom told me, usually when she was too drunk to shut up." She leans in at the mention of teaching. "My trainer and I have already figured out that I would rather not fight if I don't hafta. Sure, I know about weapons, but given the choice, I just wanna play my cello. And yeah, having me around other "talented" people tends to get a lot of *this*" She gestures to the wide distance between her and the others, the whole room between them. "Hank seems to be the only one of you that wants to be near me. And I didn't say I didn't want your help. Geez! What crawled up your ass and died?" She rolls her eyes and looks away. No love lost there, it would seem. "I don't want Hydra coming after you because of me. I didn't call Doug so I could make more trouble for him or his .. friends." She glowers at Scott, seeming it hard to believe that he's friends with anyone
"She's scared and frustrated, Scott." Cal points out quietly. "And rightfully so. Look." he tells Nancy. "Our help comes with no strings. We teach you to control your power and you're free to walk at any time. Hopefully, you might want to use it to help others once you can but that's your choice. We can probably get you to safety without them knowing about it. It should be safe enough." Pausing a moment, he studies the girl. "I wonder. You can turn someone off if you're close enough but do you also turn off their power if they're out of range?" HOlding out his hand, palm up, a small ball of fire forms and he lightly tosses it toward Nancy. "Don't worry, it'll just float near you."
"I know she is," Scott replies. "The older I get, the less patience I have for this sort of dance." Idly Scott hope the coffee comes soon. "I think you'd better choose another tone, Miss O'Neal, if you'd like our help." Doesn't seem like Nancy is too good at making friends either, considering they're here trying to protect her from being killed.
Going back into the kitchen to get the coffee, Doug returns, passing the coffee first to Nancy, then to the other two. As he's out of Nancy's field range, Doug nods. "Look, I know you're scared, I know you don't really trust people right now, but at some point, you're going to have to not put up a wall and let people clash off it. It's easier to get help without being so… defensive."
Nancy O'Neal grits her teeth and tries to stay calm when she's referred to as being scared. That's just damned insulting, but they are trying to help. Don't snark. Don't snark. Pretend they are Hank and don't snark. She takes a deep breath and though she doesn't know it, her sphere of nothing doesn't grow larger as it normally would when she gets angry. She accepts the coffee with a muttered thanks and scowls and sulks as she drinks it. "YOu know, the irony of you telling me not to put up walls when I seem to have one all around me." She watches the bit of flame coming over to her, waiting for it.
Cal nods his thanks to Doug and takes a sip. Once Nancy's had warning about the fireball, he sends it toward her but aimed to go over her shoulder. "We should see if it stays up while you're asleep. That would make things easy. Or if you were drugged, assuming you trusted us enough to let us try that."
Scott takes a sip of the coffee to gauge it's heat and then takes a little bit more. He nods to Doug, "Nice work, Ramsey. Thanks." He watches the interaction between Calvin and Nancy, but says nothing.
"Well, yeah, but that just means you can let some things in. Like air or light. So why not let human feelings in?" Doug replies, as he sips the coffee, turning his attention towards Calvin, giving him a tilt of his head. "That was what I thought Dr. McCoy was going to do, wasn't he? Will you be willing to do that if Dr. McCoy did the tests, Nancy?"
Nancy O'Neal holds the mug of coffee, trying to stay calm as Scott seems to know just what to say to piss her right off. She actually bites her tongue to keep herself from calling him something unpleasant. Then Doug has to go and make himself a target. She flips him the bird with a scowl. The ball of flame grows closer to her, but when it gets to the standard area of effect it pauses and then fizzles out and dies. "Well, I've slept around Doug already. I suppose I can do that again. Drugging me? Maybe… once I get to know you guys? No offense."
Hmmmm. Cal slowly nods, filing away the result of that little experiment. "All right. Seems like you won't be able to be teleported unless it does go down when you're asleep or drugged. That would be the safest way to get you there without Hydra knowing." There's the old fashioned way but it carries risks; risks he's not certain should be taken.
Scott watches what happens with some intrigue, sipping at his drink quietly. Soon there's a slight buzzing in his pocket and he reaches for his phone, "Sorry guys, I'm going to step out into the hall and take this."
"Illyana did manage to teleport her, though, into Limbo. So maybe if we skipped her right through, it should be okay," Doug notes. He inclines his head at Scott. "Ok."
You say, "Okay, just so you know, the car out front is registered in my name. That Jericho guy gave it to me last night. If you're going to take me anywhere, leaving htat here might cause problems for Doug." She nods when Doug mentions that time she was teleported. "Yeah, the demon girl took me to hell. So it should be possible?""
"Did she." Taking a few moments to think, Cal drinks his coffee. He nods to Scott as the other man goes out to take a phone call. "She creates actual portals. I don't usually do that but I can. If she could teleport her that way, I probably could. How exactly did she do it? Was she outside Nancy's radius? Did they use the same portal, just very large or separate ones?"
"I don't think Illy's portals themselves are affected - she can probably block her ability to summon them, but the portals were made from outside Nancy's range, but not Illy's range, so that's probably it," Doug observes.
Nancy O'Neal shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. But when she broke into my apartment, she did say that she didn't want me near her so she could port out again." She sighs heavily, frowning as she leans on the wall. "This is a hassle. Sorry. This power really sucks the fun outta things, don't it?" She smirks then, winking to Doug as she makes a pun about her power.
Cal grumbles slightly as the others supply a bit of missing information. "Yes, her ability is to summon them not create them. Well, bright side is, we can get you there without them knowing. All we need to do is ask Illyana." He prefers not to mimic her power since the demons in Limbo don't regard him as anyone who needs to be obeyed. Or left alive with Illyana's orders. "So that's solved. I'd want to make sure you don't carry a homing device in you."
"Oh no no, I'm not going to check her for a homing device," Doug replies. "Let Dr. McCoy do -that-."
When told that Illyana is going to have to help, Nancy grumbles. She looks out the window and says nothing, just sipping her coffee. She sighs and bangs her head on the wall. "YOu know, for all we know, they could have put a microchip or something inside me. Like the last time they did my blood test years ago. And gee Doug, thanks. I didn't realize I was that terrible."
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Cal tells Nancy. "I didn't mean search you for bugs. I meant get you catscanned or something and look for implants. That's how I'd do it."
"Yeah, exactly. I'm not going to look for implants," Doug replies dryly. If she was going to be snarky, so was he.
Nancy O'Neal nods to Calvin. "Well, then I guess yer gonna need a catscan or something. My phone isn't bugged. Jericho did something to it and says it's safe." She finishes the coffee and puts the mug on the window sill. "Oh, face it. You just don't wanna come close to me."
"Till we know for certain, you probably shouldn't stay here." Call tells Nancy. "Granted, it could be too late already but better safe than sorry. And if she is bugged…" He glances at Doug. "You're going to need to move. And maybe change your name for a bit. But we'll arrange something ASAP." Hank can almost certainly come up with something.
"Wait… what? Hold on, I have to do what?" Doug blinks slowly. "Um… all right." Wrinkling his nose at Nancy, Doug comments, "can you blame me? I just end up having scrambled powers, and unlike some others, I actually -like- mine."
Nancy O'Neal winces and looks over at Doug apologetically. "I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean for all this problem to happen. I just … I just didn't know what to do when I found out that Hydra wants me." She runs her hands through her hair and starts to pace a couple of steps. "This is just getting so … big."
"Only if she's bugged." Cal repeats. "You don't want Hydra coming to get you. They have ways of making you talk." nancy gets a sympathetic look. "Hydra is big. And dangerous. You should warn your piano player friend too. But hopefully, there's no tech in you or why would they be using your supposed friend? Do you know if she's an actual agent or just being paid for info?"
"I don't know," Doug sighs, running his hand through his hair. "We'll just find out, won't we?"
You say, "Jeri seems to be fully aware of who Hydra is. It's why he wanted to warn me. And it's a he. Paul. The guy I work with that told me not to beat up Doug when he saw me leaving work. And I don't know what his involvment is other then he's been reporting about me a lot in the last month but once a week before that."
"Work. Well, I hope you don't mind quitting your job. Or taking a long leave of absence." Can nods in Doug's direction. "Talk to Doug about work, your lease if you have one, etc. If you're locked in, we can help with the rent and stuff for a while." All part of the service. "Doug, call me if you need me. Send me a live video of where to port in and I'll know it's an emergency. We'll get this done ASAP." BLINK. Gone.
"
You say, "Yeah, I think I'm just gonna … not show up. And the apartment is in my mom's name. Literally, I have nothing I own but the car outside and everything in it." She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Thank you. Both of you. I know this is a hassle, but I really appreciate it. And… nice talkin' to ya. Sheesh."